Hawks outlast Breakers in double-overtime thriller

The Illawarra Hawks remain undefeated during the NBL22 season by defeating the New Zealand Breakers 97-96 in a double-overtime thriller at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

During the Hawks’ first home fixture, which saw the lead change more than a dozen times, the star of the show was guard Tyler Harvey, who scored 26 points - including a game-winner in the final seconds of the second overtime period.

On top of that, the 28-year-old Californian added eight rebounds, two steals and one assist in the Hawks’ third straight victory - played in front of 2,873 fans on Friday night.

Supporting Harvey was NBA Next Star Justinian Jessup (21 points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal), Australian Boomer Duop Reath (19 points, 12 rebounds, one assist and one steal), Memphis native Antonius Cleveland (12 points, nine rebounds and three assists) and bench spark Xavier Rathan-Mayes (11 points, three assists, one rebound, one steal and one block).

For the Breakers, Yannick Wetzell paced his side with 25 points, 16 rebounds, two steals and one assist.

Others to score in double figures for Dan Shamir’s men, who lost Tom Abercrombie to an ankle injury during the second half, were Hugo Besson (20), William McDowell-White (17) Jeremiah Martin (14) and Finn Delany (10).

HawkHeads: Fired Up 🔥

Watch #NBL22 live on @ESPNAusNZ + @kayosports 📺 pic.twitter.com/17w4Ges1OI

— NBL (@NBL) December 17, 2021

Both teams struggled to score through the opening four minutes of the contest, as the visitors led 5-4.

This lead was stretched to as many as 15 midway through the term, powered by 11 straight points by big man Wetzell - as the Breakers led 27-14 at quarter-time.

Stern words from Brian Goorjian at the break sparked the hosts, who started the term on a 15-2 - capped off by a three from Jessup.

A putback lay-up by Reath put the hosts up 33-31 but that was short-lived, as New Zealand scored nine of the next 12 points.

Despite a late free-throw by Rathan-Mayes, the Hawks trailed 41-39 at half-time.

In the third,  Harvey and Jessup came out more aggressive and combined to score the hosts’ first 15 points and help them regain the lead.

The Breakers hit back through their own import Besson, whose eight straight points saw the visitors go into the fourth leading 60-57.

Goorjian’s troops quickly responded with Reath scoring seven of the Hawks’ 9-0 run to start the final period.

The back and forth contest continued down the wire, with the Breakers hitting the front 75-74 with 34.2 seconds left on the clock following a sharp screen and dive by Wetzell.

Showing he has ice in his veins, Harvey got the hosts back in front with a clutch three.

But a late driving lay-up by McDowell-White levelled the scores, before a shot by Jessup missed as time expired, to see the game go into overtime.

During the first extra period, Delany’s three, from right in front of the Hawks’ bench, put the Breakers up.

However, a swift post move and dunk by Reath helped restore the Hawks' lead.

But staying true to the form of this round three clash, the game went to a second extra period, despite Harvey’s attempt to win the game.

.@YoungTRaaw called game 🙌#WeAreIllawarra #FlyAsOne #NBL22 pic.twitter.com/DhdAVoY7aw

— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) December 17, 2021

In the second overtime, Martin and Besson traded clutch scores with Reath and Harvey - whose driving left-handed lay-up put the Hawks up by one with 2.6 seconds left.

In the final play of the game, Rathan-Mayes stripped the ball off Besson, to secure the Hawks their third straight win of NBL22.

Next up for the Hawks is a trip to Brisbane on Sunday to face the Bullets from 3pm AEDT, while the Breakers battle will look to end their winless start against the South East Melbourne Phoenix. 

The Hawks next home game is on Thursday, December 23 against the Phoenix, with seats available via Ticketmaster.